If you are one of those people who think that higher core numbers mean better processing power, let me tell you, it’s a myth. CPU cores have to communicate with each other through channels and this uses up some of the extra speed. The performance of a processor mostly depends upon what kind of technology is used in manufacturing that processor. Let us look into this traditional myth in detail:
Does Adding More Cores Mean Better Performance?
Are you familiar with Moore’s Law? Gordon Moore is the co-founder of Intel. He came up with an interesting observation: the processing power of computers should double every two years or so. Simply put, this is due to a higher number of transistors being fitted on a single chip. And this brings us to the question we’ll try to answer in this guide: ‘Is it true that more cores equal better performance’?
We will take a look at how the number of cores affects CPU performance. We will also see if there’s anything more important than the number of cores. After reading this guide, you will have a better understanding of technology in general.
Having more cores in the processor means better performance if the software you are running can access and use all the cores. But if the primary thread is limited to one core, the performance improvements won’t be that obvious.
How Does the Number of Cores Affect Performance?
A multi-core processor has two or more cores (processing units). Each core handles different program instructions. This boosts the overall processing power. That is why a multi-core processor is faster than a single-core processor running at the same speed.
The problem with single-core processors is that they need more time to access the cache and RAM and run the program instructions. And this makes them a bit slow. Multi-core processors solved this problem by distributing the load to more cores and running multiple processes simultaneously. This change in the processor architecture has greatly improved data transfer speed.
Having a lot of cores is crucial when running highly complex tasks that require a great amount of processing power. Such tasks include gaming, video-encoding, running simulation programs, scientific analysis tools, statistics programs, math programs, database management, virtualization, VR, AI, and more. Single-core processors are pretty much useless when it comes to running such complex tasks. They first need to process the first string of data and then go to the next one. This is a time-consuming task. But multi-core processors can run complex instructions at the same time.
Dual-core processors should provide enough processing power for the average user. Do you need a home computer to browse the Internet, check your inbox, and occasionally stream Netflix videos? Then you should be just fine with a dual-core processor. Of course, if you want more speed and performance, feel free to go for a quad-core processor. But anything higher than four cores is irrelevant for the average user.
Are Four Cores Better Than Two?
Generally speaking, yes, four cores are better than two. But that’s not always the case. As we already explained, the frequency at which your processor is running plays an important role in the overall performance of your device. Then, if the program you are running can use all four cores, your computer will be able to handle the tasks much faster compared to a dual-core machine. Using a four-core processor or higher usually brings mixed benefits. It all depends on the capacity of the software you’re running to access and use all the cores.
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